Sharing the importance of agriculture, agricultural education, and programmatic efforts through Extension is vital to ensuring policy makers and the general public understand the need for supporting the overall agricultural industry. However, communicatingsuch importance can be challenging without accurate, evidence-based language to describe what makes agricultural initiatives unique and effective. Furthermore, having knowledge of the unique strengths of Extension builds a foundation of resources agricultural staff can use in problem-solving, communication, and education techniques. A Delphi study was conducted to research the unique strengths of University of GeorgiaExtension in an effort to better educate and communicate with local and state stakeholders. Findings resulted in 11 strengths that gained 100% agreement from research respondents. Six thematic categories covering all agreed-upon strengths document strengths in an explicit way that can also help with internal communication and education effortswithin the Extension organization.
24 pages, The central research question that guided this study was: how does the framing of written content on Facebook influence public perception of information regarding the management of wild horses and burros? This research was conducted using content analysis to examine 136 Facebook posts of six organizations communicating about the wild horse and burro controversy and 8,295 comments made by individuals to the organization’s posts. There were eight major themes that emerged from the data, organized by the interaction of three frames: organization frame, audience frame, and organization-audience interaction frame. Organization frame themes included: organization positionality and its influence on framing posts for emotional appeal and audience action, and organization post style, post frequency, and response frequency and its influence on audience reception of the issued. Audience frame themes included: action-oriented responses, emotional responses, government responses, and management-related responses. Organization-audience interaction frame themes included: the influence of organization comments on audience’s perception of the issue, and misinformation concerns.. These themes provide insight into how organizations and individuals are communicating about the wild horse and burro controversy using social media and illuminate opportunities for further research into social media communications to positively impact agricultural literacy. Recommendations for practice include: supplying necessary information to social media instead of relying on the audience to click links, keeping the perceived-cost and investment of requested audience participation low to encourage activism, and strategic planning regarding the frequency and types of post to maximize audience engagement.
14 pages., The agricultural sector has been influenced significantly by agriculture and natural resources (ANR) policies voted in by elected officials. Many agricultural organizations and their members have sought to provide a ‘voice’ for the ANR industry and communicate with policymakers about emerging issues. It is necessary that such organizations and members be able to use that voice effectively. This study was conducted to examine the communication preferences of Florida agricultural organization members and factors that may encourage them to contact elected officials about an ANR policy. Respondents in this study least preferred to be contacted by their organization(s) via phone call or text message. They also identified local Extension offices and the university as the most trustworthy sources of communication regarding ANR policy. When contacting members to spur involvement in ANR policy decisions, organizational leaders should use a variety of communication mediums, including email magazines and printed newsletters and magazines, to promote engagement in ANR policy discussions. Future research is needed to examine other factors that may influence agriculture organization members’ communication with elected officials, as well as the types of messaging strategies organizational leaders can use to further members’ engagement in ANR policy decisions.
13 pages., While work on agricultural messaging is abundant, the way that audiences form perceptions of messages is not well understood and little research has examined the cognitive effects of image and word associations in an agricultural context. Previous knowledge gap research has shown that socioeconomic status and access to information could be one contributor of perception formation. We propose that these variables could also impact cognitive processing. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study was to examine how components of cognitive dissonance and knowledge gap theory apply in the context of a contentious agricultural issue. Data were collected from 1,049 United States’ residents through an online survey with an embedded experimental design. Respondents randomly received one of two image and word association pairings. After viewing the treatment, measures of cognitive conflict, demographics, and desire to learn more were collected. The results showed that the cognitive conflict instrument performed differently in the context of a complex agricultural issue than in prior research. Additionally, the message pairings had a stronger influence on cognitive conflict components than demographic characteristics. Finally, the desire to learn more was impacted by the message treatments. Future research on cognitive conflict and advanced modeling is recommended.
Carroll, Devon E. (author), Stevens, Carrie A. (author), Stripling, Christopher T. (author), Sorochan, John C. (author), and Brosnan, James T. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2021-12-01
Published:
United States: American Association for Agricultural Education
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12422
18 pages, Women are a traditionally underrepresented demographic in the turfgrass industry. As the industry faces labor shortages, increased recruitment and retention of women to the field may reduce labor issues. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the lived experiences of 13 female leaders in the turfgrass industry representing diverse job titles, years of experience, and geographic locations. The objective of this research was to promote change within the turfgrass industry and subsequently increase female recruitment efforts by identifying barriers faced uniquely by women and influences on female leadership success. To discover this information, participants engaged in 30-to-90-minute semi-structured interviews with the central research question, “What lived experiences have shaped your career in the turfgrass industry?” Transcriptions of interviews were open-coded and used to develop six main themes: (a) career paths, (b) mentorship involvement, (c) leadership styles, (d) challenges, (e) opportunities for personal growth, and (f) opportunities for industry growth. Interviewed women proved to be vibrant leaders in the industry and faced similar challenges in their journeys to leadership including inappropriate peer conduct, difficulty building a family, and overcoming stereotypes. Women sustained career success by engaging in self-efficacy through educational development, mentorship, and personal growth. These findings can be used by both women and men in the turfgrass industry to improve current culture for women
14 pages, For centuries music has played a vital role in the lives of people, communities, and organizations. This is the same for agricultural and youth organizations like the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the New Farmers of America (NFA). From the very beginning of these youth groups, music has played an important part in the live’s of members, as well as in chapter, state, and national events. The purpose of this historical research study was to document the history of music within the Future Farmers of America and New Farmers of America youth organizations. Historical research methods were used to gather information for this study. From the beginnings of both the FFA and NFA, local advisors quickly saw the benefit of using music to build leadership, confidence, and esprit de corps among the boys in their organizations. The NFA developed quartet and talent competitions at the state and national levels. Both the FFA and NFA organizations established chorus groups for boys from across the country. The FFA placed more emphasis on state and national bands and orchestras than did the NFA. Song books were published to encourage the inclusion of singing in FFA and NFA events. Official manuals for the organizations included songs and yells that could be used in local chapter activities. Organization leaders saw the benefits of using music to inspire youth to develop their musical and leadership skills. Music has been a key component of the success of both the FFA and NFA organizations.
14 pages., The 4-H Youth Development program prohibits all forms of discrimination which includes disability. 4-H Extension professionals provide the essential interface between Extension and the local community to create an inclusive environment for all youth, including those with disabilities, that is welcoming and accessible. Attitudes and self-efficacy for working with youth who have disabilities impact how well 4-
H delivers positive youth development programs. The purpose of this study was to determine state-wide 4-H Extension professionals’ attitudes, self-efficacy, and perceptions of inclusion toward youth with disabilities. In addition, the researchers sought to examine their use of a training program to better serve youth with disabilities. All 4-H Extension professionals in Ohio were surveyed (N = 135) with 71
responding (response rate of 53%). Results indicated the attitudes of Extension professionals for accepting of and feeling comfortable around youth with disabilities was overwhelmingly positive. They also perceived that youth with disabilities felt that they were included in 4-H activities. For self-efficacy,
4-H professionals reported they could effectively provide inclusive opportunities for youth with disabilities and adapt their level of instruction, take extra time, and pay attention to the needs of youth
with disabilities. However, about a third of the respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that their workload would increase by having youth with disabilities in their organization. The disability training program was used by over three-fourths of the 4-H professionals and helped them to engage with parents to learn more about their children with disabilities. The program also improved accommodations and
creating a more inclusive 4-H environment.
